Sleepless
by queeenb
Summary: Bella Swan and Edward Cullen have two things in common: they live in New York City and suffer from insomnia. Sleepless nights bring them close. They find romance, and create a strong friendship, despite their pasts and struggles. A/H. Lemons eventually!
1. Intro

The city lights at night can oftentimes be more blinding than the sun. But I'll never forget the first night I spent in New York City. The moment you first experience the city lights at night are unreal. In Times Square, it is almost as bright as day. And when I first experienced those city lights, I thought I'd never grow tired of them.

But I was wrong. Somehow I fell into the deadly black hole that is insomnia. It can swallow you whole. It can make you so zombie-like. It's something I'll never wish on anyone. And it's sad, because even though you're awake, you barely feel alive. Your days are twice as long as everyone else's. And they drag on and on. After a while you run out of ways to entertain yourself.

I do feel lucky, though. For living in a place like NYC with a sleep disorder like this. It's a lot more lively at night than say, some small town in Alabama.

I used to love New York City. That's why I moved here. It was a dream. But then I found the cost of living here is too high and there isn't any good nature for miles.

You see, I grew up in Forks, Washington. And there is wilderness everywhere. It's the perfect place to gather your thoughts. It's the perfect place to write. And I used to write. I was accepted into NYU's creative writing program. And I moved out here immediately in the fall after my high school graduation. But then I dropped out and became a telemarketer. Isn't that just living the dream?

Where I begin my story is here: A year after I dropped out of NYU, in the midst of my late nights awake in the big city, I'd seen a man. A man, so gorgeous, and so distraught looking. I'd seen him in quite a few places I'd spent wandering. In this city, that's a big coincidence. Or maybe it was fate…


	2. Mystery in the Black Shirt

**A/N: I would like to warn, this story contains mature themes!  
**

Summer days in New York City were normally humid as all get out. You could see it in the air. You could feel it in your lungs. I spent most of these humid days inside of a silver building, trying to sell who cares what to who cares who.

But summer nights are better. Although, they are nothing like summer nights in Okoboji, Iowa, where my mother Renee stayed with her new boyfriend Phil. I didn't necessarily approve of their relationship, being that she left my dad Charlie and I for Phil. But I once went to Okoboji to try and repair our relationship. Although it didn't, and ultimately was our demise, I enjoyed Okoboji itself.

Summer nights in NYC were still filled with noise. Not so much like the serene sound of crickets in Iowa. Don't get me wrong, you see things in New York that are like no other place. But sometimes you miss the simple elements of nature in places like Iowa. Sometimes simple just…works.

To me, the way the nights went was important because I was awake. I don't know why I was always awake. I don't know how I became so insomniac. Or maybe I just didn't want to know how.

One summer night I was in Central Park, enjoying what little bits of nature I could. If you listened really close, you could block out the sounds of the city and hear the faint sounds of the breeze through the trees, and the crickets tunes in the air.

I'd spent the beginning of that night sitting on a lone bench. And then when I became bored of my actions, I made my way through the park.

And that's when I saw him. The man I'd been saying in various places around New York at night.

He had a bronze colored hair that looked tattered and split on all ends. It was evident that he tugged at it often. He was lean and pale. And he was wearing a black shirt and black jeans. Kind of plain but it looked nice on him.

It took me a while to approach the mystery in the black shirt, but I did. He looked so distraught, there was no other word for it, and more importantly he looked sleepless like me.

Eventually I approached him.

"Hi," I said softly.

The man jolted up, as if he didn't hear me or see me standing there for a moment's time. "Hello there," he replied.

"I see you often," I said, hoping he wouldn't find it creepy.

"Oh you do?"

"Yes."

The man gave a crooked smile. The way the street lamp shone onto his pale skin, combined with that smile, was a very beautiful sight.

"Then I suppose we should become acquainted," he said.

I stood there for a minute, then awkwardly held out my hand. "I'm Bella," I said to him.

He took my hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Bella. My name's Edward," he began. "Edward Cullen."

Edward Cullen. It had a ring to it.

I still stood there awkwardly. I'm not so good at conversation.

"Let's go for a walk, shall we?" Edward said.

"Sure."

There was a still silence for a little bit while we were walking. But it wasn't uncomfortable. It felt peaceful.

"So what neck of the woods are you from, Bella?" Edward asked, breaking the silence.

"Chelsea. Near Penn Station," I replied.

"No, I meant where are you from? I can tell by your accent you're not from around here."

"Oh! Forks. Forks, Washington."

"Forks? Is that right by Spoons?"

"There's a Spoons in Washington?" I said, and almost immediately regretted it. I could be so gullible sometimes.

He chuckled.

"What about you?" I asked.

"Well, I reside in the Upper West Side. But I'm from Middletown. About an hour and a half from here."

"I see. I'm not familiar with the area besides NYC. Actually, I'm not fully familiar with NYC. Is anyone?"

"It's possible. People who have lived here their entire lives."

"What brought you here?" I asked, because I genuinely wanted to know.

"The American dream, what else?" He joked, and before I could respond, he spoke again. "You?"

"I was accepted into NYU. Dropped out after a year. And then I got the job of my dreams in telemarketing."

"I sense your last sentence is heavily induced with sarcasm."

"Yes, yes. I don't think my job is anyone's dream, unfortunately."

"Not going to lie, I don't think so either," Edward said.

It became quiet. And pure exhaustion came over me. Really? Now I become tired? Right when I'm talking to a very interesting—not to mention very handsome—man.

"I think I'm going to head home. It was very nice meeting you Edward. Hopefully we will meet again," I said.

"How about tomorrow? Same time, same place."

"Sounds good," I said, trying to hold back the excitement. He wanted to see me again, too.

That night I finally slept. And I finally knew who the mystery in the black shirt was.

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I hope I get some more! :D**

**xoxo, B.  
**


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